Breaking news from the frontiers of neuroscience.

Tag: depression

So you’re stuck in that mid-week slump…the weekend lies on the other side of a scorching desert of work, and you have no canteen because you gave up water for Lent (in this metaphor, “water” refers to alcohol…just to be clear). But fear not! Neuroscience knows how to cheer you up! Nope, this isn’t another post about sex or drugs…though those are coming soon. This one’s about five things science says you can do right now – with your mind – to chase your cranky mood away. 1.Take a look around Research shows that people who focus on the world around them, instead…

Scientists have discovered a way to shut down the brain’s “stress process” before it gets going, says a new study. By blocking the brain’s ability to manufacture certain chemicals called neurosteroids, researchers have managed to temporarily cut off a biological process crucial for stressful behavior – and for many stressful feelings as well. Animals from amphibians all the way up to humans produce a hormone called corticosterone in their adrenal glands. Corticosterone levels become elevated under stress, and this hormone is a major ingredient in a number of stress-related biological processes, from feelings of nervousness to aggressive behavior. Corticosterone does most of its direct work…

Want to get rid of gloomy thoughts? Try working some physical activity into your daily routine, says a new study. For people who struggle with depression and anxiety, the research shows, exercise can be just as effective as antidepressant medication. It often prevents symptoms from getting worse – and in some cases, it even helps cure the problem. Doctors have known for decades that a little physical activity can help distract you from your worries, boost positive feelings, and even relieve anxiety and depression. But in recent years, research has shown that exercise’s hidden effects reach much deeper: it tells your body to produce endorphins – natural chemicals that act similarly to…

If you’re starting to feel depressed, try looking around you, a new study suggests. People who tend to ponder their internal feelings are often prone to depression relapses, the research found; while people who focus on what they see can sometimes resist a spiral of negativity.1 As the journal Biological Psychiatry reports, a team led by ACLAB’s Dr. Norman Farb found that the brains of some formerly depressed patients respond to sad imagery by activating the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) – a brain area known to be involved in brooding – and that this activation pattern often predicts a relapse into depression over the next year. But other…